Robert Tittler – författare

This analysis of the secular impact of the Reformation examines the changes within English towns over the period c.1540-1640. All over England wholesale shifts of urban land and resources, coupled with increased statutory responsibilities, allowed a surprising number of towns to strengthen their financial and political positions. The Reformation had already begun to destroy much of the doctrine-based political culture which traditionally sustained provincial governments. As a result, the ruling elites in many towns not only extended their holdings and acquired greater autonomy; they also gained much greater institutional authority over their inhabitants - part of a growing movement away from communal values towards rule by oligarchy. These elites sought to legitimize their new authority by various means: civic portraiture and regalia, the building of town-halls, the writing of local histories, and the creation of new forms of worship. An altered civic ethos emerged, marking a significant new phase in urban history.

Robert Tittler investigates the growing affinity for secular portraiture in Tudor and early Stuart England, a cultural and social phenomenon which can be said to have produced a 'public' for that genre. He breaks new ground in placing portrait patronage and production in this era in the broad social and cultural context of post-Reformation England, and in distinguishing between native English provincial portraiture, which was often highly vernacular, and foreign-influenced portraiture of the court and metropolis, which tended towards the formal and 'polite'. Tittler describes the burgeoning public for portraiture of this era as more than the familiar court-and-London based presence, but rather as a phenomenon which was surprisingly widespread both socially and geographically throughout the realm. He suggests that provincial portraiture differed from the 'mainstream', cosmopolitan portraiture of the day in its workmanship, materials, inspirations, and even vocabulary, showing how its native English roots continued to guide its production. Innovative chapters consider the aims and vocabulary of English provincial portraiture, the relationship of portraiture and heraldry, the painter's occupation in provincial (as opposed to metropolitan) England, and the contrasting availability of materials and training in both provincial and metropolitan areas. The work as a whole contributes to both art history and social history; it speaks to admirers and collectors of painting as well as to curators and academics.

In this, the first comprehensive study of post-Reformation provincial English portraiture, Robert Tittler investigates the growing affinity for secular portraiture in Tudor and early Stuart England, a cultural and social phenomenon which can be said to have produced a 'public' for that genre. He breaks new ground in placing portrait patronage and production in this era in the broad social and cultural context of post-Reformation England, and in distinguishing between native English provincial portraiture, which was often highly vernacular, and foreign-influenced portraiture of the court and metropolis, which tended towards the formal and 'polite'. Tittler describes the burgeoning public for portraiture of this era as more than the familiar court-and-London based presence, but rather as a phenomenon which was surprisingly widespread, both socially and geographically, throughout the realm. He suggests that provincial portraiture differed from the 'mainstream', cosmopolitan portraiture of the day in its workmanship, materials, inspirations, and even vocabulary, showing how its native English roots continued to guide its production. Innovative chapters consider the aims and vocabulary of English provincial portraiture, the relationship of portraiture and heraldry, the painter's occupation in provincial (as opposed to metropolitan) England, and the contrasting availability of materials and training in both provincial and metropolitan areas. The work as a whole contributes to both art history and social history: it speaks to admirers and collectors of painting as well as to curators and academics.

A Companion to Tudor Britain provides an authoritative overview of historical debates about this period, focusing on the whole British Isles. An authoritative overview of scholarly debates about Tudor BritainFocuses on the whole British Isles, exploring what was common and what was distinct to its four constituent elementsEmphasises big cultural, social, intellectual, religious and economic themesDescribes differing political and personal experiences of the timeDiscusses unusual subjects, such as the sense of the past amongst British constituent identities, the relationship of cultural forms to social and political issues, and the role of scientific inquiryBibliographies point readers to further sources of information

Our conventional understanding of English portraiture from the age of Holbein and Henry VIII on to Reubens, VanDyck and Charles I clings to the mainstream images of royalty and aristocracy and to the succession of known practitioners of 'Renaissance' portraiture. In almost every respect, the 'civic' portraits examined here stand in sharp contrast to these traditional narratives. Depicting mayors and aldermen, livery company masters, school and college heads, they were meant to be read as statements about the civic leaders and civic institutions rather than about the sitters in their own right. Displayed in civic premises rather than country homes, exemplifying civic rather than personal virtues, and usually commissioned by institutions rather than their sitters, they have yet to be considered as a type of their own, or in their appropriate social and political context.This fascinating work will appeal to both art historians and historians of early modern Britain.

The century bounded by the Henrician Reformation and the Civil Wars marked an important stage in the development of urban institutions, culture, and society in England. At the outset of this period, England was still very much an agrarian society; by its end, it was well on the way to becoming an urban one as well. The complexity and subtlety of those developments become especially vivid when we experience them through the lives of more or less ordinary townspeople, which Tittler allows us to do here.These biographical studies not only have much to tell us about the time and milieu, but also provide an array of interesting and varied characters: Henry Manship, the historian of his native Yarmouth; Henry Hardware, who removed "the giant, the naked boys and the devil in feathers" from Chester's Midsummer Show; Robert Swaddon the swindler and John Pulman the "thief-taker" of London; Joyce Jeffries, the spinster money-lender of Hereford; John Brown, the speculator in dissolved monastic lands in Boston; John Pitt, the overseer of guildhall construction in Blandford Forum; John and Joan Cooke, the Mayor and Mayoress of Gloucester, the subjects of a most revealing posthumous portrait; and Sir Thomas White of London, the philanthropist and "merchant hero." Tittler introduces these studies with a comprehensive but succinct description of English towns and cities of the time.

The century bounded by the Henrician Reformation and the Civil Wars marked an important stage in the development of urban institutions, culture, and society in England. At the outset of this period, England was still very much an agrarian society; by its end, it was well on the way to becoming an urban one as well. The complexity and subtlety of those developments become especially vivid when we experience them through the lives of more or less ordinary townspeople, which Tittler allows us to do here.These biographical studies not only have much to tell us about the time and milieu, but also provide an array of interesting and varied characters: Henry Manship, the historian of his native Yarmouth; Henry Hardware, who removed "the giant, the naked boys and the devil in feathers" from Chester's Midsummer Show; Robert Swaddon the swindler and John Pulman the "thief-taker" of London; Joyce Jeffries, the spinster money-lender of Hereford; John Brown, the speculator in dissolved monastic lands in Boston; John Pitt, the overseer of guildhall construction in Blandford Forum; John and Joan Cooke, the Mayor and Mayoress of Gloucester, the subjects of a most revealing posthumous portrait; and Sir Thomas White of London, the philanthropist and "merchant hero." Tittler introduces these studies with a comprehensive but succinct description of English towns and cities of the time.

Journals of the natural world reveal fascinating details of life at the time.These two journals, kept by Quakers in north-east and north-west England respectively, record in careful detail weather and agricultural events of their time and regions. But they also observe all manner of other things and events. The journal of John Chipchase, schoolmaster of Stockton-upon-Tees, recently came to light for the very first time in a Montreal university library. It has much to say about weather and crops, but also meteor showers and the aurora borealis, lightning strikes, fatal diseases, fishing and fishkills, the homing instincts of cats, the life cycle of snails, fierce gales and consequent shipwrecks, and both the causes and local reactions to the near-famine of 1795. Elihu Robinson's record of weather, crops and prices has only been known in manuscript form to a few specialists. Possessed of both a barometer and thermometer, his sometimes even daily observations are remarkably meticulous. As an active Quaker, he also offers a rich description of their life and organization in the Northwest.Taken together, these journals suggest something of the intellectual and cultural bent of two publicly engaged menof their time, both of middling status and informal education, living far from the cosmopolitan world of London and the universities. ROBERT TITTLER is Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at Concordia University in Montreal, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Until recently, the reign of Mary Tudor was generally seen as a ‘sterile interlude in the Tudor century, with Mary herself dismissed asBloody Mary. Extensive research in the past several decades has overturned these assumptions in almost every respect. In this succinct and up-to-date introduction to Mary‘s reign, Tittler and Richards provide new insight into the circumstances of Mary‘s accession and go on to show that her reign was a lot more stable, and her regime much more competent and innovative, than once believed. This fully revised third edition includes a diverse range of primary sources and sheds new light on a variety of topics, such as: The complexities of Mary‘s relations with Philip of Spain The restoration of Catholicism The use of visual as well as literary means to legitimize and support Mary‘s rule The context for the war with France This concise and thought-provoking introduction is ideal for students and interested readers at all levels.

A Companion to Tudor Britain provides an authoritative overview of historical debates about this period, focusing on the whole British Isles. An authoritative overview of scholarly debates about Tudor BritainFocuses on the whole British Isles, exploring what was common and what was distinct to its four constituent elementsEmphasises big cultural, social, intellectual, religious and economic themesDescribes differing political and personal experiences of the timeDiscusses unusual subjects, such as the sense of the past amongst British constituent identities, the relationship of cultural forms to social and political issues, and the role of scientific inquiryBibliographies point readers to further sources of information

Until recently, the reign of Mary Tudor was generally seen as a ‘sterile interlude’ in the Tudor century, with Mary herself dismissed as ‘Bloody Mary’. Extensive research in the past several decades has overturned these assumptions in almost every respect. In this succinct and up-to-date introduction to Mary’s reign, Tittler and Richards provide new insight into the circumstances of Mary’s accession and go on to show that her reign was a lot more stable, and her regime much more competent and innovative, than once believed.This fully revised third edition includes a diverse range of primary sources and sheds new light on a variety of topics, such as:· The complexities of Mary’s relations with Philip of Spain· The restoration of Catholicism· The use of visual as well as literary means to legitimize and support Mary’s rule· The context for the war with FranceThis concise and thought-provoking introduction is ideal for students and interested readers at all levels.

A rare examination of the political, social, and economic contexts in which painters in Tudor and Early Stuart England lived and workedWhile famous artists such as Holbein, Rubens, or Van Dyck are all known for their creative periods in England or their employment at the English court, they still had to make ends meet, as did the less well-known practitioners of their craft. This book, by one of the leading historians of Tudor and Stuart England, sheds light on the daily concerns, practices, and activities of many of these painters. Drawing on a biographical database comprising nearly 3000 painters and craftsmen - strangers and native English, Londoners and provincial townsmen, men and sometimes women, celebrity artists and 'mere painters' - this book offers an account of what it meant to paint for a living in early modern England. It considers the origins of these painters as well as their geographical location, the varieties of their expertise, and the personnel and spatial arrangements of their workshops. Engagingly written, the book captures a sense of mobility and exchange between England and the continent through the considerable influence of stranger-painters, undermining traditional notions about the insular character of this phase in the history of English art. By showing how painters responded to the greater political, religious, and economic upheavals of the time, the study refracts the history of England itself through the lens of this particular occupation.